Labour party conference live: Rachel Reeves stands by winter fuel allowance cut in speech as nurses reject 5.5% pay rise

Two thirds of British adults think it is unacceptable for MPs to accept tickets to football matches and concert tickets as gifts from donors or companies, a new survey has revealed.

According to the YouGov data collected on Monday, 64 per cent of 4,046 adults polled in the UK deem the practice unacceptable, while almost half (44 per cent) state that it is “completely unacceptable”.

However, the survey did find that one in five (19 per cent) concede it is “somewhat acceptable” and one in 20 (6 per cent) say it is “completely acceptable”.

Meanwhile, YouGov also asked the public for their thoughts on the reason behind why wealthy people make donations to individual politicians, with six in ten (60 per cent) arguing it is an attempt to gain influence, and only six per cent saying they are given because the doners support the politician and their party.

Gary Neville has accused the Premier League of acting like a “bully” and “scaremongering” about the proposed independent football regulator.

The former Manchester United and England star, who has been a strong supporter of an independent regulator, criticised the attitude of England’s top football league as “entitled” and “selfish” during a fringe event at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool.

Mr Neville said on Monday: “We have a Premier League that’s entitled, they feel entitled.

“I’m not going to use the word greedy, but I just have. They are selfish and I can’t understand that way of thinking.

“It’s almost like they’re the big brother that sit there and distribute scraps of food to the little brothers round the table. It’s not what you do when you’re in a family.”

His comments follow claims that English teams could be barred from European competitions such as the Champions League if the new regulator is introduced, due to Uefa rules against state involvement in football governance.

The government has dismissed concerns, stressing that the regulator would be independent and saying it did not expect there to be issues regarding European competitions.

He added: “Their mindset is such of a bully. Their mindset is such that they think they can influence the regulator once the regulator’s introduced and they can get a better deal potentially the other side of the regulator.

“And what they’re applying is their soft power and their influence to try and create scare stories and scaremongering, like we had a couple of weeks ago.”

Political Correspondent Archie Mitchell reports:

The energy secretary has announced plans to raise the minimum energy efficiency starndards of privately rented and social homes to reduce costs.

“It is a Tory legacy. It is a Tory scandal. It is a Tory outrage,” he declares in his speech during the Labour Party conference. “This government will not tolerate this injustice, and we will end it.”

Announcing new minimum energy efficiency standards, Mr Miliband added: “Warmer homes, lower bills, over one million people lifted out of fuel poverty. That’s the difference a Labour government makes.”

More than 25,000 people have arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel so far this year.

Home Office figures show 717 people made the journey in 13 boats on Sunday, taking the provisional total for 2024 to date to 25,052.

This is the third highest number of arrivals recorded on a single day this year, after 882 on June 18 and 801 on September 14.

It also means 1,424 Channel crossings took place this weekend, after another 707 people arrived on Saturday in 11 boats.

The total for the year so far is up four per cent on this time last year (23,996) but 21 per cent lower than the same period in 2022 (31,686).

Crossings continued for a third day in a row on Monday, amid overcast and windy weather conditions at sea.

Ed Miliband has said Labour has “won the argument” on policies to tackle climate change.

During his speech at the Labour conference, he said: “At the election there was an argument about our country’s future.

“The Tories and their friends on the right said we should turn away from climate action and clean energy. We said no, and we won the argument.

“And I’ll tell you why. Because the British people know our mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower is the way to put energy policy back in the serve of working people.

“Social justice, economic justice, climate justice. That’s the mission of this Labour government.”

Welsh First Minister Eluned Morgan has declared it is time to “give hope” to voters across Britain.

She told the conference: “With Welsh Labour governments in Cardiff and Westminster, we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build a fairer, greener and more prosperous future for everyone.

“Let’s seize this moment, let’s work tirelessly to deliver the change that people deserve. Let’s give hope not just to Wales but for Britain, to all who believe in the power of progressive politics to transform lives.”

Sir Keir Starmer is being urged by several cabinet ministers to sack the top civil servant in Whitehall immediately and stamp his authority on the new Labour government.

Knives are out for cabinet secretary Simon Case, who has been accused of undermining the prime minister and being responsible for briefings against his chief of staff Sue Gray. One exasperated cabinet minister said: “He [Case] has got to go now.”

Mr Case has denied any inappropriate behaviour and has been put in charge of investigating how damaging leaks at No 10 occurred, including the news that Ms Gray’s salary eclipses the PM’s.

Our political editor David Maddox has the full story: